Industrial pans are intended for heat treatment of products directly on the frying surface. They are widely used in the food industry and in catering to frying and stewing of various food products. Some modern universal models allow not only frying but also steam-cooking, sautéing, drying, boiling, and blanching.

The differences in pan designs mainly lie in their frying surfaces, the heat-transfer agent, and the heating method. 

Industrial fryers are widely used for frying onions, potatoes, cabbage, carrots, beets, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, eggplants, and other vegetables, and for sautéing vegetables, meat, and fish. Besides direct frying, industrial fryers are also used to cook jams, tomato paste, and syrups; thicken sauces, and for preliminary drying of flour. 

Frying, sautéing, and stewing in an industrial pan have major advantages due to the large surface area on which processing is carried out. Due to this large area for processing and the high temperature on the frying surface, the frying process takes little time, and liquids are evaporated much more quickly and effectively than with other plants.